Game Recaps, Recruiting

Game Summary – Dr. JM Denison SS(95) vs. Woodbridge College(68) York Region Semi-final #1

Published by Drew Ebanks on February 23, 2011

The first York Region Sr. Boys semi-final taking place at Brother Andre Catholic High School
featured two teams on the opposite spectrum of the GTA basketball scene. The Denison Huskies
lead by Kevin Pangos came into the game against Woodbridge College as the two ranked team in
the York Region draw.
They were facing a surprise semi-finalist squad that featured sharp shooting guard Darnell
Landon. Woodbridge had squeaked by Aurora HS by 2 points and Maple HS by 4 points while
Denison handled Markam DHS by 14 points and St. Jean de Brebeuf CHS by 12 points in their side
of the bracket for the right to face off against each other.

The game started off in a flurry for Denison as they took control immediately after the tip-off by grabbing
rebounds off Woodbridge misses(poor shot selection) and running out on the break for easy hoops.
Pangos wasn’t looking for extra shots, just dropping dimes as the Huskies took an insurmountable
26-4 lead after 1.

The dominance from the Newmarket squad continued in the 2nd quarter as Brayden Gohn got open
repeatedly inside the paint for buckets as well as several and-1 plays.
Woodbridge tried in vain to single-man press Pangos…an impossible task as he’s a master of
changing speeds and has several stutter moves and head-fakes to get his defender to back off. I counted
about 10 times in the game where the crowd “oohed and aahed” as Pangos shifted defenders from
left to right and either put them back on their heels or left them in a trail of dust behind him!
The Woodbridge defence was non-existent as Gohn poured in 13 points in the second quarter and led all
scorers with 18 at the break with Denison ahead 54-25. Pangos scored a quiet 10 in the first half as well.
Landon seemed frustrated at his team’s lack of concentration and attention to detail and was seen
pleading with his players to get into the game on several occasions. He managed to score 14 points
in the first half against a very stingy Denison defence.

In the 3rd it was more of the same from the Huskies as Brett Zufelt got in on the action with 6 points
of his own. Zac Marcelline, a strong off-guard for Denison had a quiet game and scored only two
points for his team in the quarter as the Huskies led 77-52 after 3.

The 4th quarter was just a formality as Zufelt had his way inside scoring 9 points in the frame and Pangos
chipped in with 7 points and 26 points for the ballgame, tied with Gohn for game-high.
Pangos was sublime at running the offence threading passes inside and deep for tons of fast
break layups and dunks. He scored 21 points with only one made three as Denison won it 95-68 to advance
to the final.
For Woodbridge, who were a surprise to even get this far, Landon played his final high school game in
valiantly, dropping a cool 24 points that included some tough three pointers, usually over the outstretched
arm of a defender or two. He also showed an ability to get into the paint, and although very slight, was
not afraid to take contact and at least get to the line for a chance at two points.
He’s not 100% sure yet where he’ll end up but York is on his radar which bodes well for a rapidly
improving CIS, and it will be fun keeping tabs on his play if he ends up there.
He also said Ryerson, University of Denver, Colorado State, Central Michigan have contacted him
expressing interest but none of them have offered him yet.